CITES lists all species under threat in its Appendix I, II and III, I being most serious. We have indicated on this site the endangered rating of all species named.

A new organisation to tackle wildlife crime has been launched in the UK.
The National Wildlife Crime Unit will concentrate particularly on the trade in endangered species, estimated to be worth about £3bn a year worldwide.
Environment Minister Michael Meacher said the unit would target "big time" criminals who were "pushing some of our most endangered species ever closer to extinction"."Wildlife crime is a specialist area of crime which needs a specialist and co-ordinated response."
"This new unit will keep Britain at the forefront of global efforts to tackle wildlife crime. We have to step up our battle to beat the wildlife bandits - from bird egg thieves to tiger and rhino poachers," Meacher said.
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An analysis of data in TRAFFIC's Bad Ivory Database System provides some indication of the movement of illegal ivory around the world. Data from major seizures involving more than 52 tonnes of ivory from 26 countries between 1989 and 1996 show that 18.8 tonnes were directed towards Asian destinations. Japan continues to be a destination for illegal shipments of raw ivory, semi-worked ivory blocks, the semi-processed blanks used to produce hankos, and worked ivory products. From 1989 through 1992, Japanese law enforcement authorities seized 12 such shipments. In 1997, seizures in Japan included raw tusks and 13,800 semi-worked ivory blocks coming from Singapore.
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The Society's International Conservation program oversees field conservation projects in over 50 countries involved in gathering information, training conservation professionals and protecting and managing wildlife.
WCS has more than 300 field projects throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America.

Become a member of the Wildlife Conservation Society and help support our worldwide conservation efforts.

Known worldwide by its panda logo, The World Wildlife Fund is the world's largest independent conservation organisation with over 4 million supporters and a global network active in some 100 countries. WWF's mission is to protect nature and the biological diversity that we all need to survive.
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WCMC is an independent organisation and has become a principle source of global biodiversity information. The website provides information on endangered species and their status.
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Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are fascinating to many people. It may be because of their size or because of their activities that can seem so playful or because of the attention that has been focused on human threats to these animals. The whales, dolphins, and porpoises are in an order known as cetaceans. These creatures of the sea are mammals just like humans. They breath air. They are warmblooded. They bear live young called calves which are nursed by their mothers.

There are currently seven species of cetaceans in U.S. waters that are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

These whales became endangered because they were hunted so heavily that the populations were severely reduced. During the 19th century, whales were hunted primarily for oil and baleen. Before the advent of electricity, many American homes were lighted with whale oil. As recently as twenty years ago, products from whales were used for everything from machine oil to women's cosmetics. Because of the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, it became illegal to import products containing materials from whales.
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